The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1887-09-01

aWay--you Will not!
assured her that they bad boon
driven of, and that she was safe, aud
her gratitude was unbouuded. 1t was
now ten o'clock and after, and Patton
had not yet returned. It was useless
TO expect him until morning. and / set
about preparing the camp for
the night As there was d
strong probability that the two
men driven off would secure reinforce
ments and return during the night ]
tied the horse to the wagon, told the
woman that she could occupy the We
hicle, and prepared to spend the night
ON guard, She seemed to oppose this
latter arrangement doubling II the
men would return. and declaring 1t
was sacrifice on my part she could
not accept / bundled her into the
wagon, however. promising that l
might catch nap after one or two
o clock, if all was quiet, and by and by
/ let the fire go down and took my cir
Gle around the camp with cat-like step.
A few coyotes and wolves came about
but nothing seemed to disturb me. and
the hours passed away until two
o'clock. By that time was very tired
and sleepy. ] dared not stretch out
for regular sleep, knowing that the
danger was not yet passed, but l sat
down on knoll about forty feet north
of the wagon to nap little, knowing
that any noise of account would in
stantly arouse me. 1t was perhaps q
quarter of an hour before / actually
fell asleep. and almost instantly / be-
gan TO dream. dreamed that l was
tied fast TO tree on the plains. and
that rattlesnake was crawling toward
me. The snake was coming to bite
me. and was helpless. Every move
ment of the reptile was as vivid
as if the dream had been a
reality. and my mind was as clear
as bell. The serpent came very
slowly, halting every two or three feet
to rear its head and look about and
when it was within ten feet its form
changed. TWAS yet serpent, but it
had small brown hand, and the hand
clutched bulldog pistol. The pistol
was pointed full at me, and / saw that
the hammer was up.
''Whizzl" went a shadow before my
face, and then saw him behind me.
The snake was no longer in 'front.' but
creeping up in my rear. and yet / saw
him as plainly as before. He came on
MISUNDERSTANDING little
nearer. When within three feet Of my
heels the pistol was raised to the back
Of my head, and said TO myself;
so am to be shot 1t is large
bullet, and / wonder why he didn't
bite meP If was loose would make
a fierc eight for my life
''Clungr 1t was the sound of
pistol hammer striking on the center
of cartridge--a cartridge which had
failed to explode. In the same second
was ON my feet I human figure
stood before me. ! gave my heavy
rifle half sweep, and the figure sank
down with a stified shrek. Then /
was fully awake, and l bent over the
stranger, to find it was the woman
who should have been asleep
in the wagon. She was uncon-
scious, but clutched firmly in
her right hand was bulldog pistol.
l wrenched it away and carried her to
the embers of the fire. and when had
secured blaze saw that had struck
her on the head and given her bad
hurt. examined the pistol, and when
| found that the cartridge had been
tried by the hammer, it did not take
me long to unravel the plot against my
life. bound the woman hand and
foot, and then kept vigilant watch
until daybreak. She recovered con-
seriousness long enough before this.
but the only aid / extended was to
loosen her hands and place dish of
water beside her. She did not adj
dress me. and / had no word for her.
When day broke there was another
surprise for me. A Kickapoo Indian
lay dead under the wagon, shot
the heart. 1t was a great
mystery to me, but the woman was
ready to clear it up. united her.
washed the blood off her face and
head. and then she gave the whole
plot away. Patton had been made a
prisoner by a gang of outlaws in order
that / might be robbed. These men
knew of the tin box in the wagon. The
woman had been sent into camp with
the story she told, knowing that she
would get into the wagon. The
two men came 10 distract my
attention and the Kickapoo
rrept up to receive the box. The
woman couldn't find it, and / mistook
the Indian for wolf and killed him.
Then the woman concluded that had
the money on me, and while mapped
she crept up 10 shoot me and secure
It. She told the particulars as coolly
as i relate them to you, and when she
had finished she asked what was
going TO do about it. Patton had by
that time returned, having raised such
a row that his captors feared to de-
tain him longer, and he answered the
question by picking up rope and
starting for the nearest tree.
This broke the woman down, and
she begged and pleaded so abjectly
that we left her free to go where she
would when we drove on. To have
taken her to Ockmulgee, Kickapoo. or
any other town as a prisoner would
have been to cause us great delay and
annoyance, and it was some consola-
ton to know that the blow gave her
caused a wound from which she
would not recover for many days.
She was penitent enough as we drove
away. but six weeks later was killed
with her husband. half-breed, Will,
stealing stock from the Greek Indians.
IN Y SIM